Need a luscious Easter dessert? Something both sweet and tart with a light buttery undertone? Think blueberries. They're available year round and often sport a more than reasonable price. And if that weren't enough, blueberries have been found to be a "superfood", so good for you that you should go out of you way to eat them. And what could possibly be better than eating them out of hand? How about a mouth-watering blueberry pie? You may be picturing a pie with the juices running amuck or worse, a gluey texture. I think you'll find this recipe to have the perfect structure with a combination of jammy and whole berries. Enjoy!
Dough
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 t salt
2 T sugar
12 oz. unsalted cold butter cut into 1 T slices
4 T Crisco
¼ to ½ cup ice water
Pulse flour, salt and sugar in food processor until mixed. Scatter butter over flour mixture and pulse briefly. Add Crisco and pulse again. You should still see tiny bits of butter. Pour ¼ cup ice water around bowl of processor. Pulse until dough holds together between thumb and forefinger. Add more gradually, one tablespoon at a time, if necessary. This is a key step. Dough should not look dry nor should it look wet. Don't let a ball form. Place dough on work surface, pat together and press outward with heel of hand to incorporate butter into flour. Gather into a ball and divide in half. Form into disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil to catch any filling that may bubble over. Heat in a 400 degree oven while you're making the filling.
Filling
4 pints fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1 t lemon zest
1 t fresh lemon juice
½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t freshly ground nutmeg
4 T tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
2 T unsalted butter cut into small cubes
Egg wash made with one egg beaten with a pinch of salt
1 t coarse sugar for finishing top of pie (optional)
Directions
Rinse and pick over blueberries. Set aside 2 cups. Place remainder in a non-reactive saucepan along with sugar. Cook over medium heat until the sugar melts and mixture is bubbling. Stir and don't allow mixture to stick to bottom of pan. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and tapioca flour. Continue stirring until mixture has thickened and is lightly bubbling. Set aside to cool.
Roll out dough to fit into deep dish pie pan. Trim overhang and place in freezer while you roll out the dough for the top. Using a pastry cutter, cut strips of dough 1 inch wide. Fold the 2 cups of whole berries and butter into blueberry mixture and fill bottom crust mounding in center. Lightly moisten top edge of bottom crust with water. Arrange strips of dough across top spacing about ¾ of an inch apart. Then add strips at an angle across the first set. Press onto bottom crust and trim overhang. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place in oven on preheated baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then lower to 350 for 25 to 35 more or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool on a rack. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Serves 8.
Recipe by Phyllis Kirigin sweetpaprika.wordpress.com Phyllis is a resident of Croton-on-Hudson and is an avid cook and food blogger. She loves all things culinary, focusing on using fresh ingredients and promoting local farmers and artisans. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
